


From the heart

by diaryofafunnyfan



Category: Free!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, M/M, a short fic for precious Haru's birthday!, and Haru's crush on his dazzling being Rin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 08:53:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11354070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diaryofafunnyfan/pseuds/diaryofafunnyfan
Summary: It’s Haruka’s birthday so all his friends message him. One message is particularly special to him.





	From the heart

Haruka wasn’t the type to look forward to birthdays, especially not after his grandmother died. His parents were usually away and unable to see him, leaving only a well-meaning phone call behind instead. The Tachibanas were always kind and Makoto always gave him a small cupcake on the birthdays his parents weren’t home, but it was never the same.

Then Rin happened. During the first summer of middle school, Haruka told himself he wasn’t looking forward to a postcard or maybe even a phone call from Rin, wishing him a happy birthday. When it never came, he lied to himself about how he wasn’t disappointed.

Now, it was the third summer of high school and he occasionally texted his friends, no longer averse to his phone. He wondered if any of them would greet his birthday via text at midnight like he had seen in a few of the animes Nagisa had wheedled him into watching.

At midnight on the 30th of June, his phone began buzzing. Haruka blinked his eyes opened and reached for the device, resting on the shelf above his head from where he laid in bed.

A soft snort escaped Haruka’s nose as he read Rei’s rambling and formal message of well-wishes for the year. A small smile bloomed when he read Makoto’s short yet sentimental birthday greeting. The smile grew even wider when he read Nagisa’s lengthy message featuring plenty of exclamation points and emoticons. Gou sent a polite yet kind greeting, and even Yamazaki sent a brief but appreciated message (that Haruka had a feeling Rin was responsible for). Finally, his heart began palpitating and his cheeks grew red when he read Rin’s text. There wasn’t anything particularly notable about the message, it was just Rin merely typing out the lyrics to the birthday song and wishing him a good day, but knowing Rin took the time to type those words specifically for his birthday made Haruka’s eyes shimmer with joy. He read the message a few times before holding his phone to his chest, as if willing Rin’s affection to seep from the device into his veins.

Haruka fell back asleep that early morning with a smile on his face, dreaming of red hair and a dazzling sharp-toothed grin.


End file.
